There was a great buzz around the #WEareready booth at the Devonshire Mall last month and at other recent events.

One thing we are hearing repeatedly though from supporters, is that there is still some misinformation about the Windsor-Essex Hospitals System circulating in the community.

Below is a list of FACTS that should help clear up some of the most common myths about the proposed Windsor-Essex Hospitals System.

Please share with anyone and everyone!

FACT: There is a planned increase in the number of acute care beds.

Assuming the new hospital opens within the next ten years, the plan is to have the same number of beds as the current system on opening day, with room to grow over time as required. The future plans include increased rehabilitation and complex continuing care beds as well. The following blog post has much more information about bed numbers.

FACT: Roads that will be built to support the new hospital at County Road 42 and Concession 9, were part of the city’s plans long before the hospital site was announced.

The cost of the roads to support the new hospital at County Road 42 and Concession 9, is $22.9M. Any additional roads to be completed were planned well in advance of the new hospital discussion, and are not dependent on the hospital being located there. These upgrades are going to occur even if the new hospital does not proceed. These roads will benefit both the City and the County for generations to come.

FACT: Money for the new hospital project CANNOT be used for operations/staffing.

Capital investments are different from operating dollars. We cannot take long-term financed or one-time capital dollars and use them for annual operating expenses. If we did, we would end up with deficiencies in both.

In his latest report to the Board of Directors, Windsor Regional Hospital President and CEO David Musyj addressed this issue.

“Operating expenses in healthcare will continue to be stressed. That is not going to change. However, the amount of time our team members spend and our patients are inconvenienced by our infrastructure cannot and should not continue.” David Musyj, President and CEO, Windsor Regional Hospital

For more on this and a recent example of infrastructure deficiencies at our current facilities, please read the latest Report of the President and CEO to the Windsor Regional Hospital Board of Directors.

FACT: There is a limited amount of infrastructure dollars available across the province

Windsor Regional Hospital has made it clear for the past 4 years that there is a limited amount of infrastructure dollars available for hospital projects across the Province. We need to move this project to Stage 2 now.

Those who claim we have plenty of time and can debate this project without a risk of losing it altogether are completely wrong.

Ottawa is not the only Ontario city in search of a super hospital. There is a kind of hospitals arms race underway, with numerous communities seeking billions of dollars from the debt-ridden provincial government to build 21st century health infrastructure.

Given the competition, timing could be crucial.

The Ottawa Hospital’s chief executive. Dr. Jack Kitts, hinted last week that timing could play a role in Ottawa’s ability to get provincial funding for a proposed $2-billion super hospital.

“We are kind of in a race with Windsor,” he said in an interview with the Citizen after a breakfast speech to the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce. “We are all trying to get the money.” Ottawa Citizen, Feb. 21, 2016

FACT: The Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, Tayfour Campus, is in integral part of the new Hospitals System.

Anyone who tells you the Tayfour Campus is going to be torn down or replaced is wrong. The Tayfour Campus has some of the most modern hospital infrastructure in the region, thanks to a $100 million dollar renovation that began in 2009. That renovation included a new mental health facility and rehabilitation centre, with 80% single-patient rooms.

The Windsor-Essex Hospitals System calls for even more investment in this site, as detailed in the below.

FACT: The proposed Urgent Care Centre is unlike anything we currently have in Windsor/Essex.

The proposed Urgent Care Centre will be very much like an emergency room with hospital physicians, staff and diagnostics. Because it will be run by the Windsor Regional Hospital, patients can be easily admitted to the hospital from the Urgent Care Centre.

WATCH: How the Queensway Urgent Care Centre in Toronto, Ontario, is helping to reduce wait times for patients in an emergency.

fact. the new location will be less accessible to those who are least able to drive to the other side of the airport. and almost totally inaccessible to those that walk or ride or rely on public transit. the selected site perpetuates the 1950`s model of urban sprawl and result in an even greater number of vacancies throughout the city core.

These are not facts, these are assumptions used to support the views of a group that puts its own agenda ahead of the need for state-of-the-art healthcare for this region.

The new hospital at County Rd 42 and the 9th Concession, is just one part of the proposed new system. The plan also includes $300 million worth of investment in the city’s core, including Urgent Care and out patient mental health.

Accessibility was the number one criteria when choosing a location for this hospital. By the time the new hospital opens, it will be accessible by public transit. The site will be at least as accessible or more accessible to a majority of patients, staff and physicians. For a breakdown of these statistics, please visit http://www.wrh.on.ca/Site_Published/wrh_internet/Document.aspx?Body.Id=65561

Accessibility for only the County? Windsor is worried it is not accessible to them especially for the elderly and disabled who had moved downtown to be close to health care. Those are the ones worried. Has this been considered?